The Power of Storytelling: What Marketers Can Learn From Casey Neistat and Google

I first discovered the work of Casey Neistat via his recent ‘Make It Count‘ video for Nike (which is fast approaching 5 million 6 million views on YouTube).

Since watching that video I’ve been taking in more and more of Casey’s work. And, last Saturday morning, before I got up and on with my day, I watched his short film entitled ‘Guthrie Beach Raft’ and it got me thinking about the power of storytelling in marketing.

Guthrie Beach Raft

Facts vs Emotions

Casey could have made a video about the Guthrie Beach Raft using facts about the raft; how many people used it, how long it’d been there, etc. but that would have been nowehere near as compelling as the personal stories he shared in the video.

Sometimes, facts and figures are great, but if you’re really looking to create loyalty and build a relationship with your audience then creating an emotional bond is the way forward.

Appeal to Emotions

Storytelling has an amazing ability to reach out to our emotions, as one comment left on Casey’s video shows;

Five minutes ago I didn’t know a “Guthrie Beach” existed. Now I’m practically crying because some raft broke there.
Well played, storyteller man, well played.

Of course, Casey is a master storyteller – you’ll learn that as soon as you watch one of his short films – he can make any situation interesting, and has a natural ability to keep viewers engrossed in his work. But for an example of a brand using storytelling to create emotional bonds, look no further than Google.

Google Chrome Adverts

Google have done a tremendous job with their Chrome adverts; they show us how their products have a positive effect on peoples lives.

By appealing to our emotions, whether it’s love, ambition, happiness or sadness, they tell a story which looks to build an emotional bond between us and their product.

One advert shows how a man uses the web to try to win back the one that got away. Another shows how a father uses the web to share memories with his daughter as she grows up.

Basically, Google Chrome isn’t just a browser, it’s much more than that.

In the below videos you can see some examples of how Google have used their advertising to reach out to our emotions.

Any thoughts?

Often, our emotions are much stronger than rational thought. Purchasing or using a product isn’t always about the practicalities of it, it’s also about the emotional ties and how the product makes us feel.

Do you consider your audiences emotions when writing a blog; creating a video or designing a website? I’d love to carry on the discussion about storytelling and using digital content to appeal to emotions below, feel free to leave a comment.